Roasted Pepper, Blood Orange, and Olive Salad

I really love weeknight cooking. When I first started cooking seriously, I used to try to replicate restaurant dishes, to make fancy preparations and desserts straight out of Pierre Herme. But since then, as I've grown and matured in other parts of my life, I've found that making a good meal at home, whether for a small group of friends, or just for the two of us, is the cooking I really love. That even a simple roast chicken, with some good gratin potatoes and a green salad, can be my favorite kind of cooking. Or an easy pepper salad alongside some quinoa and lamb chops.

This easy salad takes a page from both classic Moroccan and Algerian cooking, both of which love orange-based and grilled-pepper-based salads. We got some pretty good jarred roasted red peppers the other day - the kind that are firm and not slimy - and they made this salad really easy. Blood oranges are not a must for this salad, regular oranges will do just fine.

Roasted Pepper, Blood Orange, and Olive Salad

3 roasted red peppers, jarred or freshly roasted and peeled
2 blood oranges or one large navel orange
a handful of black olives, pitted and chopped
olive oil, salt
chopped cilantro and parsley for topping

1. Slice peppers lengthwise and arrange on a platter.
2. Supreme oranges, working over a bowl to catch the juices. Arrange oranges over peppers. Sprinkle olives over top.
3. Whisk a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt in with the orange juice you caught in the bowl. Pour dressing over top, sprinkle with herbs. Serve.